Photo By Sgt. Hannah Adams | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Miles Eaton, a network administrator with Hampton Roads...... read more read more
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Naval Station Norfolk, Va.— U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Miles Eaton, a network administrator with Hampton Roads Detachment, 2nd Network Battalion, Cyberspace Command, knows firsthand that music speaks when words cannot express emotion.
“I got into music when I signed with a label back in 2014,” Eaton explained. At the time, he was only an 8th grader at Bend Middle School, Oregon.
Eaton attended two colleges in 2020, the University of Portland Oregon and Central Oregon Community College, where he majored in music theory and psychology. During his time in class, he embraced the art of music and even attended a class with well-known music artist, Kygo.
In March of 2020, the state of Oregon declared a statewide emergency in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic that required Eaton to attend class virtually from the confines of his two-room apartment. To make the most of the situation, Eaton transformed his second bedroom into a music studio.
After two years of unfulfilling online college education, Eaton dropped out. “I couldn't continue to pay for college classes...and having a full-time job took away from course work and creating music.” For Eaton, the only solution was to pursue his music career on the side of a full-time job.
After eight months of having a typical nine-to-five job, Eaton reached another crossroad. The culmination of a doing a monotonous job and paying college loans led Eaton to enlist in the United Sates Marine Corps. He began the first stage of this more fulfilling path at basic training in late February of 2022.
“I don't see any other way out other than to enlist… And, I always thought it would be an advantageous journey to become a Marine.”
During the 13-week basic training phase, located at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, recruits are stripped of all electronics. The only music they encounter is drill cadence and songs played for worship service on Sundays.
“It was rough not being able to listen to music during basic training. The one song that was on repeat in my head was ‘I will wait’ by Kygo. It kept me going.”
After not hearing music freely for three months, Eaton immediately resumed his passion when he graduated basic training in April 2022.
“It was peaceful to finally hear music again,” Eaton expressed.
Following basic training graduation, Eaton attended Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, California, and went on to complete network administration training at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Eaton checked into his first duty station, 2nd Network Battalion, Cyberspace Command in Norfolk, Virginia in September 2022.
“Throughout all the changes in my first year of the military, music gave me mental security,” Eaton explained.
Influenced by the year 2022’s changes, Eaton channeled his emotions into a new single under the artist name Miea. Within the first month and a half after release, the song was played by nearly 1,000 listeners and more than 1,700 times across all platforms.
“I wanted a bittersweet song that anyone can relate to. You could be in love, happy, or sad and take something more from the song,” Eaton paused, “but for me, I needed a song that expressed the acceptance of my situation. It’s been hard getting used to the day-to-day Marine Corps life. It can be taxing mentally, but it gets easier.”
After six months at his first duty station, he explains how it feels right to be in Norfolk and that he can call it home for now. Eaton emphasizes that everyone needs to find their passion. Ideally, that passion will maintain mental stability much like music has for him. He urges leadership to support a Marine’s passion as part of the whole Marine concept and encourages all Marines to create achievable goals. For Eaton, his goal is to release a ten-song album by mid-2023.
Eaton says it’s too early to tell if he will re-enlist, but he looks forward to the opportunity to mentor Marines as the vice president of the Single Marines Program.
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.09.2023 14:14 |
| Story ID: | 439950 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | BEND, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marine on the Waterfront: A Passion for Music, by Sgt Hannah Adams, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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